EPA cancels sponsorship of awards for climate leadership

The Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its sponsorship of a climate change awards program co-sponsored by two environmental organizations.

“The Agency has decided to discontinue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) involvement with the 2018 Climate Leadership Awards program,” the EPA said on its website.

“This includes canceling the 2018 Climate Leadership Awards as well as EPA’s sponsorship of the Climate Leadership Conference.”

The awards program recognizes organizations and individuals that take steps to address climate change. It also awards organizations that publicly report their greenhouse gas production levels and reduction efforts.

Winners in 2017, which were announced at the Climate Leadership Conference in March, include Goldman Sachs, IBM and Lockheed Martin Corp., as well as a California assemblyman, the climate policy director for Atlanta and a sustainability officer for JetBlue Airways.

Organizers of the leadership awards and the climate conference said there were “disappointed” by the agency’s decision, but that the awards program and conference will move forward without the EPA.

“We believe it’s important than ever to encourage and recognize climate action by businesses, organizations, local governments and individuals to reduce the man-made emissions that are causing our climate to change,” said Ann McCabe, executive director of the Climate Registry, and Bob Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, in a statement.

“We’re eager for opportunities to build new partnerships to ensure the 2018 Climate Leadership Conference and Awards are better than ever.”